CAN I add the name of RoadPeace - the national charity for road crash victims - to Jackie Gavin's call for slower speeds (More speed cameras, not body counts - October 4).

The charity is largely made up of bereaved and injured victims of excessive and inappropriate speed related crashes, so we have a better understanding than most about the effects of speed.

The sight and sound of speed, and media reports of more victims destined to join us, never fails to have a disturbing impact.

I myself was hit from behind, while on my bicycle, by a wagon travelling at some 40mph. Even now, 14 years on, the sight of a wagon, let alone a speeding one, triggers a haunting impression.

But we aren't the only ones affected by people who drive too fast. The carnage and congestion they cause costs the nation tens of billions of pounds every year. The dead and injured are an unnecessary and unwanted burden for the NHS, the emergency services, the courts and the DHSS.

Hostile roads lead to a hostile world. What was it Confucius said about the wings of a butterfly? Ironic then that China is now "beating it wings" to catch up with the rest of the world.

Innocent road crash victim

(Name and address supplied)